Del Potro returns with high hopes



Juan Martin Del Potro, the US Open 2009 champion, successfully negotiated his way around Hisense Arena in his first practice session at Melbourne Park in 2011.

The long-limbed Argentine, who made his long-awaited return from a wrist injury at the Medibank International in Sydney this week, threw his 6ft 6ins frame around the Australian Open's No.2 roofed court, testing out every shot in his arsenal, his famous forehand in particular, as he aims to hit top form ahead of the opening round next week.

Having sent shock waves rippling through the game with his maiden Grand Slam triumph at Flushing Meadows two years ago, 2010 was a year fraught with delays for the former world No.4. Injuring his wrist during a match at the Kooyong round robin last year, Del Potro put himself through four gruelling matches at Melbourne Park, eventually losing in five sets to Marin Cilic in the fourth round. The Australian Open appearance proved to be the only competitive matches that the Argentine was able to play all year, as his return from injury was put off again, and again, and again.

Thus it was no surprise that all eyes were on the no-longer-sleeveless Del Potro as he defeated Feliciano Lopez in the opening round in Sydney, before losing to Florian Mayer in the second round. Now ranked No.259, the former US Open champ will be keen to mark his return to form in emphatic style, but to do so he will have to get past feisty Israeli Dudi Sela in his first round match. The pair have met three times in competition, all on hard courts. Del Potro won the two most recent encounters, in Tokyo in September 2008, and in Washington in August 2008, while Sela picked up the first in Tokyo in 2007.

The unseeded Del Potro is in the top half of the draw alongside world No.1 Rafael Nadal, and, should his body hold up, could meet fifth seed Andy Murray in the fourth round.

http://www.australianopen.com/en_AU/new … 21874.html

Big Blue



by Pete Bodo

Can a first-set tiebreaker determine the course of a match? A tournament? A year? A career? Such questions are tempting on the heels of Juan Martin del Potro's first-round win at the Australian Open yesterday, and while we'd better leave the latter three of those questions alone, it seems pretty obvious that Delpo's 7-6 (15-13) first set against a game Dudi Sela deflated the loser and boosted Delpo's confidence, enabling him to roll through the next two sets tidily: 6-4, 6-4.

U.S. readers may understand and even smile at the thought of calling del Potro Big Blue, that sobriquet having been on lease to the New York Football Giants for decades now. But the cognomen isn't apt merely because Delpo is big (6-6) and perpetually seems to be dressed in blue or some shade thereof. He also plays a brand of tennis comparable to the style of football that earned the Giants the "Big Blue" acknowledgment. It's essentially smash-mouth football, or tennis, and Delpo was a master of it until last year at this time, when a wrist injury during this same tournament forced him into what would ultimately become a full year off.

Which brings us to a few more "big" and "blue" themes. When del Potro first burst upon our radar in 2008, it was in a big way. Although he won his first ATP tour title in Adelaide in 2007 and ultimately ended up the youngest player in the Top 50 (he was just a shade over 19) for the year, he simply blew up halfway through the following year.

In the summer of 2008, he won titles on clay in Stuttgart and Kitzbuhel and, without missing a beat, moved to hard courts and bagged the championships at Los Angeles and Washington D.C. In one of those hard court events, he accomplished something of which few players are capable: He overpowered Andy Roddick. There are a fair number of ways to beat Roddick, but blasting through him isn't usually one of them.

Delpo's streak continued, against all odds and, to some degree, contrary to all we thought we knew about how tough it is to excel on successive days and in consecutive events during the debilitating dog days of July and August, before a body wilts. The run finally ended at the U.S. Open, where Andy Murray throttled Delpo in the quarterfinals.

By then, we'd noticed a few other things about the surprisingly quick and unexpectedly durable native of Tandil, Argentina. His demeanor and the image he projected were those not just of a gentle, slump-shouldered giant, but one whose undemonstrative personality hinted at a touch of depression. He often seemed blue. He'd told us that were he not a tennis player, he would have pursued a career in architecture, a revelation that was both refreshing (imagine that, a tennis player who didn't suspect that down deep he's another Ronaldo!) and understandable, given that an architect can spend much time dreamily locked within his own mind, building fabulous things.

Still, Delpo is more Harold Solomon than Harold Roark, so it was not exactly surprising when, his wrist injury having become a much bigger issue than first thought, reports circulated last year that Delpo was suffering from anxiety and perhaps even bouts of depression.

What could we expect? One moment, the guy is pounding Roger Federer into oblivion in the U.S. Open final (2009), the next he's back home in Tandil, unable to swing a racket. Not only did Delpo miss a chance to defend his first major, he didn't even get a chance to win or lose in one following his moment of triumph. He had plenty of reason to be blue. In his press conference yesterday, he said: "I had a very bad year. For three or four months nobody knows about my wrist. I think that's a bad thing for my mind."

Del Potro returned to competition late last year and, after playing poorly and losing two first-rounders in Asia, pulled the plug on 2010. He went back to the drawing board after a humiliating 6-3, 6-0 loss to Feliciano Lopez in Tokyo. In his first match of this new year, he battered that same opponent through three grueling hours in Sydney before finally punching through, winning two of three tiebreakers. That win took a lot out of him (Delpo would lose his next match in desultory fashion to Florian Mayer), but it turned out those three 'breakers were good practice for Sela. When they reached 6-all in that first-set tiebreaker (with Sela wiping away a set point with a service winner), they were less than halfway to the point of resolution.

The tiebreaker is an interesting and daunting challenge for a player who isn't in peak competitive form, and there's no way a pro can get into that degree of shape simply through practice. The sparring partner could be Rafael Nadal or Federer, it doesn't matter. The synapses fire and the nerves sing in entirely different ways when it really counts, and both players know it.

So Delpo's ability to win a tiebreaker against a tricky, sometimes Santoro-esque rival, after having been down five set points was, in its own right, a herculean achievement that probably earned a much larger return than is usually warranted from such a brief investment of time and energy. The moment he cracked that giant forehand crosscourt winner, you could almost see Delpo issue an enormous sigh of relief and hear him think: I can do this, I really can!

What I liked about Delpo's game was that he continued to hit -- or tried to hit -- a big ball, even when he was in a tight jam. At times he didn't get adequate depth on his groundstrokes, which is critically important for him and a virtue that played the major role in his upset of Federer in the 2009 U.S. Open final. You can pin that down to nerves and the inhibitions bred by lack of exposure to stress.

At other times, Delpo appeared somewhat sluggish, which could not have been attributed to his degree of fitness, despite Delpo having confessed that he wasn't in ideal shape when he tried to make his original comeback last fall. So the sleepy quality had to be nerves again, and/or a lack of that instant response reaction that comes from competitive seasoning. Even a naturally quick player can appear slow or flat-footed when he's not utterly, neurologically immersed in a match.

But the important thing is that Delpo endured; he struggled, hung in there, sloughed off the pressure when Sela held set points, kept his frustration and concentration in check when he blew opportunities of his own (none of them in a way that might induce a roll of the eyes, unusual in a tiebreaker featuring a total of nine set points), and he got plenty of stick on the ball on some critical occasions, including the set-ender.

Delpo's game and career are presently like one of those giant 1,000 piece puzzles. You know from the box what the completed picture is meant to look like, but it's hard to get started, to find among those thousand pieces a few that can be identified as part of this or that portion of the landscape and fit together. Delpo isn't expecting miracles, even if some of his fans are. As he said, "I know the way to win matches. I just need time to do it."

Yesterday, it seeemed, Delpo found a few of those pieces and began to put the puzzle together. I think the pieces he found were from the top of the puzzle, pieces of a big, blue sky.

http://blogs.tennis.com/tennisworld/201 … -blue.html

Del Potro Departs



Disagreement is the name of the game in tennis, however far and wide you travel. I was sitting in a coffee shop a few mornings ago near Melbourne Park, happily attempting not to think about the sport for a few minutes, when I heard two American women at the next table discussing which matches they wanted to see at the Australian Open. They, of course, couldn’t agree on anything. They had very strong, and very contradictory, opinions about each player who came up.

“Did you see the hideous dress she was wearing?”

“He’s totally obnoxious.”

“That screeching.”

“He’s fun to watch, but I know you don’t like him.”

Finally, they found someone upon which they could both nod their heads in unison.

“We have to go see del Potro.”

“Definitely.”

There’s something about Juan Martin del Potro that tennis fans and player and writers and commentators like (actually, I do know one person who doesn’t dig the Argentine, but I won’t reveal her name here). He once had bad hair, and he used to take an interminable amount of time to decide whether he was going to challenge a call. But absence has made the collective heart grow fonder. Everyone feels for a guy who had a massive career breakthrough at the 2009 U.S. Open only to see his career go up in smoke for a year. Del Potro said he was stunned by how many get-well messages he received from fellow players.

The sympathy didn’t stop with his colleagues. I was watching on my monitor in the press room last night when del Potro’s racquet flew out of his hand, and it looked for a second like his surgically repaired wrist was about to become unrepaired (it didn't). The Channel 7 commentators, Jim Courier and John Fitzgerald, sounded crushed for him. I would have been crushed for him as well if something had gone wrong. He’s the kind of guy you can feel crushed for.

Del Potro’s appeal rests with his transparent yet dignified emotionalism. He doesn’t wear his heart way out on his sleeve, but there’s no hiding how he feels, either; how many other tennis players can express melancholy? The Argentines are high strung as a group, and they very often let their emotions get the better of their games. Yesterday David Nalbandian seemed dead set on staying as enraged as possible for as long as he possible after someone in the crowd disturbed him as he was hitting an overhead. Nalbandian never recovered. He lost seven straight games and retired—due to annoyance, it seemed, as much as anything else—in the third set against Ricardas Berankis.

There are days when del Potro seems to shrink from the battle and even mope—Davis Cup final 2008, final of the World Tour Final 2009—but for the most part he puts his emotions to good use. Rather than hop off the court and pump his fist and stare at his coach after the first game, à la Lleyton Hewitt or Gael Monfils, del Potro stays quiet, broods, stews, and then lets loose with a furious display. Some nights he waits too long to rev himself up. Even in his U.S. Open win, it took him nearly two sets to show anything; he was almost done before he dug himself into the match. The same was true last night. Del Potro had break chances in the first set, but that’s where the rust showed. He couldn’t finish them. He seemed tentative in general at first, but by the third he was fully into it. More important, though, the rust showed in his movement. Whenever del Potro gave his opponent, Marcos Baghdatis, any kind of angle, he was toast. Baghdatis had him coming and going, crosscourt and down the line. Del Potro couldn’t catch up to either.

Del Potro’s long road back has begun. I thought it was promising. He at least looked like the same player, with the same strokes and same heavy power, and he can still get around a tennis court pretty well for a big guy. I’m sure he wondered whether he would ever do any of those things again during his time away. We can all agree—it’s a start.

The man who ended del Potro’s beginning, Baghdatis, looked sharp and . . . light. He’s dropped a few pounds, and it shows. He’s always had the timing. If he’s getting to the ball half a step earlier, the way he was tonight, that ball-striking ability will make him dangerous. His next match, against Jurgen Melzer, should be an entertaining one. It’s also a winnable one. Then he would face Andy Murray. Baghdatis’s Cypriot support has been out again in 2011. Whole families will come to see him, not just young rowdies—though there are plenty of those in attendance. Baghdatis says it’s like playing “in his kitchen,” with the extended family all around. It would be nice to see him get cooking here again. Baghdatis does wear his heart on his sleeve, but as with Juan Martin del Potro, most of us can agree: We want to see him doing well.

http://blogs.tennis.com/thewrap/2011/01 … parts.html

AO 2011 - wywiad po porażce w 2 rundzie

Q. How is your wrist? Anything to worry about there?
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: No. Just for safety because I did a bad movement on the serve, and that's just be safer for the rest of the match.

Q. What are your thoughts about the match, how you're progressing with your game?

JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: Well, is difficult to say now how I'm feeling. Marcos playing very well since a couple years ago.

Every player for me at this moment, it's very tough. But I'm still improving. I'm playing better than Sydney. I think that's positive for the next tournaments.

http://www.australianopen.com/en_AU/new … 29475.html

Del Potro, zgodnie z oczekiwaniami, poleciał na łeb na szyję w rankingu. Jest dziś 485 i na tę chwilę niżej chyba nie upadnie. Mistrz US Open 2009 rozegra teraz 3 turnieje na kortach twardych w Ameryce Północnej. W San Jose zagra dzięki rankingowi chronionemu (pierwszy turniej, gdzie korzysta z tego przywileju, przed sezonem FAQ ATP przewidywało dla takiego gracza 9 turniejowych szans na skorzystanie z "PR"), a organizatorzy ATP Memphis i DB przyznali mu dziką kartę (poszli w ślady włodarzy turnieju ATP w Sydney).

... po półtorarocznej przerwie.

#8) Delray Beach 2011



Juan startował w turnieju dzięki przepustce Special Exempt.

R32 Richard Berankis (LTU) 6-4 6-1
R16 Teymuraz Gabashvili (RUS) 6-1 6-1
QF [5] Kevin Anderson (RPA) 6-4 6-4
SF [2] Mardy Fish (USA) 6-1 7-5
F [6] Janko Tipsarevic (SRB) 6-4 6-4

Przez cały turniej nie stracił nawet seta. Gratulacje!

"Calm" Del Potro Taking Things In His Stride



Juan Martin del Potro’s comeback to the ATP World Tour has been gathering pace over the past few weeks and the Argentine begins his BNP Paribas Open campaign on Thursday afternoon with a first-round clash against Radek Stepanek.

The 22-year-old del Potro was restricted to just three tournaments in 2010 due to a right wrist injury, for which he underwent surgery in May. The former World No. 4 began the season at No. 258 in the South African Airways 2011 ATP Rankings, but has clawed his way back up to No. 90 this week after strong showings in the United States in February, which included winning his first title since the 2009 US Open with victory in Delray Beach (d. Tipsarevic).

Speaking to Argentine newspaper La Nacion, del Potro said, “I’m quite calm about things. I’m happy that the results are starting to come, but at the same time I’m not relaxing and thinking that I’m back to where I was two years ago. Winning is motivation and I trust in the work I’m doing and my daily training. Also my wrist is feeling better. But I know that it is a long way back and it could take me months, even the whole year.”

Del Potro is making his third appearance in Indian Wells, with his best result a quarter-final showing (l. to Nadal) in 2009. He was beaten in the second round by Richard Gasquet on his debut in 2007. The Tandil native has a 31-19 match record in ATP World Tour Masters 1000 play and has reached one final, finishing runner-up to Andy Murray in Montreal two years ago.

Two American qualifiers complete the ATP World Tour line-up on Stadium 1 on Thursday, with Donald Young to face Italian Potito Starace in the first match and Michael Russell to meet South African Kevin Anderson in the last match of the day.

Thursday Order Of Play

Two of the ATP World Tour’s rising stars are in action on Stadium 3. Tobias Kamke, who was named 2010 ATP World Tour Newcomer of the Year, faces Serbian Janko Tipsarevic, while Lithuanian wild card Richard Berankis will look to notch his first win at ATP World Tour Masters 1000 level when he faces Alex Bogomolov Jr.

http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis … eview.aspx

Del Potro Confirms Queen's Mission As Comeback Gathers Pace



Juan Martin Del Potro will continue his impressive comeback from wrist surgery when he plays on grass in the AEGON Championships at The Queen's Club in June. He will do so with the encouraging words of two of tennis’ greatest champions - John McEnroe and Mats Wilander - ringing in his ears.

The Argentine, who won the US Open in 2009, missed eight months of the 2010 season, including the AEGON Championships and Wimbledon. He is looking forward to making up for lost time by taking on the top two tennis players in the world, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, and four-time champion Andy Roddick, at The Queen's Club this year.

“I like London, I played at the AEGON Championships a couple of years ago and I really enjoyed it,” said Del Potro. “If you want to be a really good player you have to win on grass courts. I never had good results on grass before so this year could be a chance for me to improve my game on grass at Queen’s and at Wimbledon.  I have to learn many things on that surface but I will be ready to do it. Any tournament I play I want to win and If I can play my best level I think I can do it.”

The 22-year-old man from Tandil in Argentina endured a tough time after sustaining his wrist injury last year, but he has recently returned to the sport, winning the title in Delray Beach, Florida, and reaching the semifinals in Indian Wells. He jumped 39 ranking places to No.51 this week.

“I missed everything - the tournaments, the fans, the stadiums, the other players, I really missed everything,” said Del Potro, who was not even able to defend his US Open crown. “But now I’m here again and I’m trying to play a good level. Everything was difficult after my surgery, but those bad things are the past. Now I am having a good ‘present’, I’m healthy, and if I work and still improve my game, I will have a good future.”

Standing 6’6”, Del Potro hits the ball from the baseline as hard as anyone in the history of the sport, and his comeback has received support from the two former World Number Ones, McEnroe and Wilander.

“I certainly hope he can come back to where he was,” said McEnroe, who won four titles at The Queen’s Club, three Wimbledon crowns and now stars on the ATP Champions Tour.

“It’s important that we have some contenders and when he won the US Open it looked like he was going to be a real, legitimate contender for years to come. He was the first guy of that height that could really stand up to the physicality and bruising you take on a tennis court.  A wrist injury is a tough one to come back from but it would be great to see him come back fully from it. If he can, he can still be a contender."

Wilander is convinced that he will.

“Juan Martin Del Potro is as strong as anyone mentally, and he's got such a big game that if he can stay healthy I do believe he’s going to win many, many more majors (Grand Slam titles) and he’s going to be beating the very best players in the world,” he said.

The AEGON Championships will be broadcast live, every day from 6th-12th June, on BBC Television and Eurosport.

http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis … -Club.aspx

Mats Wilander rozmawia na antenie ES z Juanem Martinem del Potro, polecam.

http://www.eurosport.pl/mats-wilander_b … full.shtml

Del Potro Makes Friends With Fellow Argentines At Benfica Football Club



Former World No. 4 Juan Martin del Potro took time out from his preparations for the Estoril Open on Monday to visit Benfica's Football Club's training ground in Lisbon.

Del Potro was presented with a Benfica shirt and met fellow Argentines and star players at the club, Javier Saviola, Pablo Aimar, Nicolas Gaitan and Franco Jara.

Del Potro, the tournament's eighth seed and 2009 US Open champion, is scheduled to meet Portuguese qualifier Pedro Sousa on Tuesday.

Benfica were crowned Taca de Portugal champions with a 2-1 victory over Pacos Ferreira at the weekend. The team is also in the UEFA Cup semi-finals.

http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis … nfica.aspx

#9) Estoril 2011



R32    Pedro Sousa (POR) 6-2 3-6, 6-3   
R16    Alejandro Falla (COL) 6-2 6-1   
Q    Robin Soderling (SWE) 6-4 7-5   
S    Pablo Cuevas (URU) 6-2 7-6(6)   
W   Fernando Verdasco (ESP) 6-2 6-2